Laugh A Lot!!!
Try not to take yourself – or life – to seriously (you’ll never get out of it alive). If you work at it, you can find humor in just about any situation. For starters, laugh at yourself – none of us are perfect.
Have a great rest of the week.
As always, thanks for being here, smile, breathe, and pay it forward.
Craig McConnell, President, PrintGrowPro/SalesGrowPro
“Great selling is a process artfully done.”
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Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com
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Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
by the incomparable Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.
And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.
Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.
You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.
You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.
And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.
No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.
I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.
And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.
But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.
You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)
Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!
Hope you’re having a terrific weekend!
“Great selling is a process artfully done.”
Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro
Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com
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I often wrestle with what constitutes the appropriate level of personal content for a ‘business’ blog. I’m hopeful that on those occasions where I ‘cross the line’ (today?), you’ll let me know.
In my January 30, 2011, post (Sales 101: “Don’t worry, be happy” & Sell More) I challenged each of you to relax, close your eyes, and think about the things that make you HAPPY. I truly believe this little exercise (if it becomes a habit) will make you a better (sales) person.
As I am sure is the case with 99.9% of you, when I close my eyes and think of those things that make me happy, my wife, daughter, son, son-in-law, and Grand Kids ‘pop up’ pretty quickly (as does watching a beautiful sunset with friends).
And, as long as I am speaking of things that make me HAPPY, our “little girl’ will turn 30 this Saturday. Last weekend, her husband Dan threw her a surprise party. Lots of friends, co-workers, sorority sisters,and her Mom and me. ’Little” brother Ross even did what it took to make the trip to Cincinnati to be a part of the surprise. WOW!!!! How fun is that!?! Makes me smile just thinking about it - not to mention HAPPY!
And now to the crux of today’s post: Dear World………………………………
When Corey started kindergarten in Tampa back in 1986, one of my clients (head of purchasing for Eastern Airlines in Miami – remember them?) gave me a copy of the ‘poem’ below. I’ve shared it with lots of folks over the years, and in honor of Corey’s big milestone (think HAPPY), I thought I’d share it with all of you out there with ‘little girls’ *of your own. Enjoy!
*or ‘little guys’ as the case might be - these thoughts are certainly gender neutral
Dear World………………………..
OUR LITTLE GIRL starts school today…………..It’s going to be sort of strange and new to her for a while and we wish you would treat her gently.
You see, up to now she’s known only love and security. She has been cuddled and kissed a lot……We have always been near to calm her fears and protect her tender feelings.
But now things are going to be different.
This morning she is going to walk down the front steps, wave her hand and start out on a great adventure…..It is an adventure that might take her across continents, across oceans……..It’s an adventure that will probably include adversity and frustration and sorrow……To live her life in the world she will have to live in will require faith and love and courage.
So World, we wish you would sort of look after her…..Take her by the hand and teach her things she will have to know.
But do it gently, if you can.
She will have to learn, we know, that all people are not just; that all men are not truthful.
But teach her also that for every scoundrel there is a hero………………That for every pretender there is a sincere leader……………Teach her that for every enemy, there are a hundred friends.
Steer her away from narrow mindedness, if you can……………….and teach her the secret of quiet laughter.
In school World, teach her it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat………..Teach her to have faith in her own ideas, even if many say they won’t work…………..Teach her to be gentle with gentle people and patient with tough people.
Try to give our daughter the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone is getting on the bandwagon……………..Teach her to listen to everyone………..but teach her also to filter all she hears on a screen of truth.
Teach her, if you can, how to laugh when she’s sad….Teach her there is no shame in tears…………………….Teach her there can be glory in failure and despair in success.
Treat her gently World, if you can, but don’t coddle her………………Because only the test of fire makes fine steel………………….Let her have the courage to fight injustice………………Let her be brave in defense of the weak.
Teach her always to have sublime faith in herself because then she will always have sublime faith in mankind.
This is quite an order, World, but see what you can do…………………………She’s such a nice little girl, our daughter.
“Great selling is a process artfully done.”
Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro
Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA
Have a great day and remember: never underestimate the power of giving, don’t wait for the ‘perfect’ time (just do it), market yourself using creativity (vs. a credit card), give free consulting, and ignore people who don’t believe in you!!!!!
“”Great selling is a process artfully done.”
Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/printgrowpro
Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com
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When you get what you want in your struggles for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people might think you’re a straight-shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
For he’s with you clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most dangerous test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you‘ve cheated the man in the glass
“”Great selling is a process artfully done.”
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Grow sales via better prospect management: www.veritastraining.com
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New CPR Guidelines (As Released By the American Heart Association – October, 2010)
Before starting, shake the victim’s shoulders and shout to see if he responds.
If the victim is not breathing, yell for someone to call 911. If you’re alone, call 911.
Begin chest compressions. Push hard and fast on the center of the chest at a rate of at least 100 compressions a minute (which happens to be the beat of the 1977 Bee Gees disco hit ‘Stayin Alive.’
Push down on the chest at least two inches with each compression. Make sure you fully release the chest before beginning the next compression.
If you have not been trained in CPR, continue chest compressions until help arrives.
If you have been trained, after 30 chest compressions open an airway and begin mouth to mouth breathing. Give two breaths and then resume the chest compressions. Continue sets of 30 chest compressions and two breaths until help arrives.
Thought(s) for the Week
“Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.” -Jonathan Edwards
“Put everything you’ve got into everything you do.” -John Maxwell
“The reason people blame things on previous generations is that there is only one other choice.” – Doug Larson
Do good, reach out, make a difference, and don’t forget: if you’re helping the guy who is on the rung of the ladder below you, you’ll be hard pressed to find time to envy the guy on the rung of the ladder above you (and there will always be both).
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All great sales people are great communicators, but they are even better listeners.
Today’s post is about listening, but not the kind of listening (to clients and prospects) that you normally associate with SalesGrowPro and PrintGrowPro.
Today I want to talk about the importance of listening to ‘signs’ you might periodically get from your own body.
For someone who was born a few years prior to the first Eisenhower inaugural, I consider myself to be in pretty good shape.
Admittedly, I could eat better (think ‘Cheesburger in Paradise’) and perhaps could enjoy fewer adult beverages, but compared to many of my contemporaries, I am far from being a contestant on ‘The Biggest Loser’.
So I was pretty surprised when on Thursday of last week, I flunked a stress test. I was even more surprised when my cardiologist (a specialist I didn’t even have in my address book until Thursday) gave me some nitroglycerin tablets, had me chew an aspirin, and scheduled me for a heart catheterization first thing Friday morning.
I was even more surprised when following my heart ‘cath’ (note how quickly you pick up the lingo) and stent insertion, I was told that I had a 99% blockage of my LAD artery ( left anterior descending; think Tim Russert) and that my kidneys had been getting so little blood that they were barely capable of processing the dye that was used for my test.
Keep in mind, this is someone who had ridden the Katy Trail (http://www.bikekatytrail.com/) 3 weeks earlier.
And boy was I surprised when I was told following the procedure that it could have been 5 more minutes, 5 more hours, or 5 more days, but a massive heart attack was in my future.
To say that this was a surreal experience (and that I am really at a loss for words — which for me is unheard of) would be the understatement of 2010. So, with today as a brand new day, how do I even begin to move forward?
Well for starters, one thing is for certain, I will do a better job of listening to my body. There may have been (probably were) signs, but I ignored them. Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! I encourage you to not make the same mistake.
*For the record, I appreciated this morning’s sunrise more than normal and a phone call from my 26 month of grandson brought me to tears.
*I hugged and kissed my 24 year old son and told him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him.
*I thanked my wife BJ for loving me, for being there for me (always), and reminded her that she makes me whole.
*I’ll reach out to and appreciate my friends even more.
*I’ll continue to regularly touch base with my Mom and Dad and tomorrow I’ll call to remind my brother that he is 6 weeks late for his annual physical.
*I’ll call my best friend Michael (again) and encourage him to have a stress test.
*I’ll await (with even more excitment than before - if that is possible) the call (that I expect any day now) from my son-in-law Dan, telling me that my daughter Corey is in labor with our grand daughter.
Speaking of Corey (McConnell Best), I’ve taken the liberty of attaching the link to her blog She is a far more creative, entertaining ‘blogger’ than I am (I would encourage you to begin following her; good stuff!!! and to avoid confusion, the BGB in her post stands for ’baby girl Best’). Her most recent posting ( For Serious y’all ), pretty much sums up – far better than I can right now – where my ‘head’s at’.
http://thebestspart.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html
Thought(s) For The Week
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